Word Meaning, Summary, Important Questions Of Chapter 4 From the Diary of Anne Frank
| Class 10
Hindi Meaning Of Difficult Words | Chapter 4 From the Diary of Anne Frank
1 | Musings | a period of reflection or thought | सोच | thinking, brooding, consideration |
2 | Adorable | lovable, cute | अति आकर्षक | asthore, Idol, love worthy |
3 | Confide | to tell personal things privately to a person that one trusts | विश्वास करना | believe, give credit to, rely |
4 | Contrary | opposite in nature, direction, or meaning | विपरीत | against, adverse, antagonistic |
5 | Enhance | intensify, increase, or further improve the quality, value, or extent of. | बढ़ाना | Enlarge, develop, Eke |
6 | Farewell | an act of parting or of making someone’s departure | बिदाई | goodbye, adieu, hooray |
7 | Intended | planned | प्रयोजन रखने का | deliberate, intentional, calculated |
8 | Listless | with no energy or interest | उदासीन | indifferent, nostalgic, effortless |
9 | Not to lose heart | not be discouraged | हतोत्साहित न हों | fearless, indomitable, steadfast. |
10 | Old fogey | an old fashioned person | पुरानी प्रसिद्धि | pensioner, elderly person, old-timer. |
11 | Quaking | shake or tremble | बुझाना | quiver, shiver, shudder |
12 | Roared | laughed (here) | दहाड़े मार कर हंसना | loud, prospering, thrifty |
13 | Annoyed | slightly angry; irritated | नाराज | disgruntled, indisposed, shirty |
14 | Assigned | gave crammed | नियत | Fixed, stipulated, prescribed |
15 | Celebration | festivity | उत्सव | fete, feast, function |
16 | Chatterbox | a person who likes to chatter; talkative | गप्पी | telltale, peddler, blab |
17 | Convincing | capable of causing someone to believe that something is true or real; powerful | समझानेवाला | cogent, persuasive, potent |
18 | Dedication | commitment | निष्ठा | enthusiasm, zeal, diligence |
19 | Depressed | sad | उदास | dreary, gloomily, crest fallen |
20 | Dummies | an object designed to resemble and serve as a substitute for the real or usual one | पुतली | imbecile, dullard, moron |
21 | Emigrated | leave one's own country in order to settle permanently in another. | स्वदेश त्यगना | relocate, resettle, defect |
22 | Exhausted | completely used up | थका | tired, aweary, spun |
23 | Fault | mistake | दोष | blame, defect, flaw |
24 | Forthcoming | imminent | आगामी | next, ensuing, future |
25 | Get along | deal with | तरक़्की करना | progress, succeed, flourish |
26 | Glances | take a brief or hurried look | झलक | glimpse, peep, flash |
27 | Grandama | grandmother | दादी | granny |
28 | Incorrigible | not able to be changed | असुधार्य | inveterate, incurable, unreformable |
29 | Ingenuity | the quality of being clever, original and inventive | कौशल, सरलता | simplicity, ingenue, dexterity |
30 | Inherited | derived genetically from one's parents or ancestors. | वंशागत | assume, take over, come into |
31 | Jotted | write (something) quickly | संक्षेप में लिख देना | note down, put on paper |
32 | Liable | likely (here) | संभाव्य | probable, imaginable, plausible |
33 | Mistress | a woman in a position of authority or control | मालकिन | captain, woman-leader, chief. |
34 | On the surface | apperently | सतह पर | evidently, ostensibly, presumably |
35 | Outbursts | a sudden release of strong emotion | प्रकोप | eruption, explosion, flare-up. |
36 | Pleading | to make an emotional appeal | सानुरोध याचना | petition, supplicate, importune |
37 | Plunge | jump or dive quickly | डुबकी लगाना | submersion, dipping, diving |
38 | Proceeded | to begin a course of action | प्रवृत्त होना | progress, carry on, press on |
39 | Prompted | provoke | उसकाना | stimulate, spur |
40 | Ramble | to talk or write at length in a confused or inconsequential ways | असंबंद्ध बात करना | chatter, babble, prattle |
41 | Ridiculous | deserving or inviting derision or mockery; absurd | बेहूदा | fibbertigibbet, inept, Laputan |
42 | Several | many | कई, विविध | various, sundry, divers |
43 | Solemn | characterised by deep sincerity | संस्कारपूर्ण | dignified, ceremonial, stately |
44 | Staked | bet, chanced | दाँव लगाना | controvert, impugn, make a match |
45 | Trait | quality | विशेषता | specialty, characteristic, predominance |
46 | Unpredictable | not able to be predicted; changeable | अप्रत्याशित | incalculable, uncertain, unsure |
47 | Verse | writing arranged with a metrical rhythm, typically having a rhyme | श्लोक | poetry, Parnassus, poesy |
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About The Poet | Chapter 4 From the Diary of Anne Frank
INTRODUCTION
Anne Frank was born on 12th June, 1929 in Frankfurt in Germany. Being Jews, the Franks emigrated to Holland in 1933. The Franks went into hiding in an Amsterdam warehouse until they were arrested on the morning of 4th August, 1944. Anne and her sister Margot were transported to Bergen Belson, a concentration camp near Hanover in Germany. They died of typhus before the camp was liberated by British troops on 12th April, 1945. Anne Frank kept a diary from 12 June, 1942 to 01 August, 1944. Her father, Otto Frank, who was the only surviving member, of the group decided to fulfil his daughter’s wish and published her diary which recounted her experience in the concentration camp.
Short Summary Of Chapter 4 From the Diary of Anne Frank
In English
SUMMARY
Αnne Frank’s parents give her a diary on her thirteenth birthday. She is excited. She names it ‘Kitty’. At last, she has found something or someone to confide all her secret thoughts in. She is generally misunderstood by everyone she knows. So she starts writing her diary. She writes about her school, her grades, friends and boys at the school. In the extract she talks about her family, her adorable father, the death of her grandmother and the day 20th June, when she starts writing her diary which she calls, ‘kitty’. She talks about her school, her teachers, particularly about her maths teacher, Mr. Keesing. She recounts delightfully how Mr. Keesing punished her for talking in class by giving her the task of writing essays on the topic, ‘A chatterbox’. When she again failed to mend her ways he gave her a yet another funny topic titled, ‘An incorrigible chatterbox.’ Later she got another topic to write on which was titled ‘Quack, Quack, Quack -said Mrs. Chatterbox’. She wrote a poem on it and won the admiration of the teacher and her classmates.
TITLE JUSTIFICATION
TITLE JUSTIFICATION
The title of this world renowned literary piece is simple and straightforward without any hidden meaning. It is a diary which Anne Frank wrote in the concentration camp to which she was sent along with her sister in Holland. The diary chronicles Anne’s experiences in Hitler’s concentration camp from 12 June, 1942 to 1st August, 1944. Her father, Otto Frank, who survived the concentration camp decided to fulfill his daughter’s wish and published her diary which recounted her experiences in the concentration camp.
THEME
THEME
The extract from ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’ depicts a poignant vision of a young girl living happily in a place where her life is threatened. She recounts joyful experiences
of her family and school life. She particularly describes how her maths teacher made her write essays on hilarious topics like, ‘A chatterbox’.
MESSAGE
MESSAGE
Liam O’Flaherty seems to be a keen observer of life and he believed that man has a lot to learn from nature. He has given a humane touch to the seagull’s plight so that the reader is reminded of the nervousness he might experience before doing something new. All we have to fear is fear itself. Once man conquers his fears for he can find that he has unimaginable potential.
The story, Black Airplane conveys an observation that there are kind and compassionate supernatural powers and probably man is never alone even in the skies.
CHARACTER SKETCH
CHARACTER SKETCH
- Anne Frank
Anne Frank, The author of the diary was born on June 12, 1929, in Frankfurt, Germany, and was four years old when her father moved to Holland to find a better place for the family to live and flee from Hitler’s persecution. Franks were jews. In the extract she comes across as very intelligent and perceptive, and shows great ability as a writer. She has great love for her family. She shows a great sense of humor as she recounts her ‘fogey’ maths teacher who made her write essays on funny topics like ‘A chatterbox’ to dissuade her from talking in the class. She seems to have a special love and ability to write as finally she won the admiration of Mr Keesing, the maths teacher for writing a poem on the topic, ‘Quack, Quack, Quack, said Mistress Chatterbox’. She also talks about her early years and her schooling. She shows great maturity when she observes ‘Paper has more patience than people’.
GLOSSARY
- Listless- without energy or interest;
- Confide- to repose one’s confidence in someone;
- Solemn-grave, serious;
- Quaking- scared:
- Assigned- give somebody a task or duty:
- Ingenuity- creativity;
- Incorrigible- something that cannot be corrected (usually a bad quality).
TYPE I: REFERENCE TO CONTEXT (VERY SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS)
TYPE 1: REFERENCE TO CONTEXT (VERY SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS)
Read the extracts and answer the following questions:
- Writing in a diary is a really strange experience for someone like me. Not only because I’ve never written anything before, but also because it seems to me that later on neither I nor anyone else will be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl.
Questions
(i) Name the speaker.
(ii) What does the speaker call strange?
(iii) Why did the speaker find it a strange experience?
(iv) How old is the speaker?
Answers
(i) The speaker is Anne.
(ii) The speaker calls writing a diary a strange experience.
(iii) The speaker finds it a strange experience because she has never written anything before.
(iv) The speaker is 13 years old.
- ‘Paper has more patience than people’. I thought of this saying on one of those days when I was feeling a little depressed and was sitting at home with my chin in my hands, bored and listless, wondering whether to stay in or go out. I finally stayed where I was, brooding; Yes, paper does have more patience and since I’m not planning to let anyone else read this stiff backed notebook grandly referred to as a ‘diary’, unless I should ever find a real friend, it probably won’t make a bit of difference.
Questions
(i) Who is ‘I’ in these lines?
(ii) What has she made up in her mind?
(iii) Why is writing in a diary a strange experience for her?
(iv) What saying did she think about?
Answers
(i) ‘I’ stands for Anne Frank.
(ii) She has made up her mind to write in a diary.
(iii) Because she never wrote anything earlier and she thought that no one would be interested in the musings of a 13-year-old schoolgirl.
(iv) Paper has more patience than people.
- Yes, paper does have more patience, and since I’m not planning to let anyone else read this stiff. backed notebook grandly referred to as a ‘diary, unless I should ever find a real friend, it probably won’t make a bit of difference.
Questions
(i) Who is ‘I’ in the above lines?
(ii) What is she talking about?
(iii) Does the speaker have a real friend?
(iv) What is the plan she mentions?
Answers
(i) In the above lines ‘I’ refers to Anne Frank.
(ii) She is talking about her diary.
(iii) No, the speaker does not have a real friend.
(iv) The plan she mentions is of never allowing anyone else to read her diary.
- No, on the surface I seem to have everything, except my one true friend. All I think about when I’m with friends is having a good time.
Questions
(i) Who is ‘I’ in the above lines?
(ii) Who is she talking to?
(iii) What does the speaker lack?
(iv) What does the speaker think when she is with friends?
Answers
(i) In the above lines ‘I’ refers to Anne Frank.
(ii) She is talking to her diary.
(iii) The speaker lacks a true friend.
(iv) When the speaker is with friends she just wants to have a good time.
- All I think about when I’m with friends is having good time. I can’t bring myself to talk about anything but ordinary everyday things. We don’t seem to be able to get any closer, and that’s the problem. May be it’s my fault that we don’t confide in each other. In any case, that’s just how things are, and unfortunately they are not liable to change. This is why I’ve started the diary.
Questions
(i) ‘And that’s the problem’. What is the problem referred to here?
(ii) Why did she start writing a diary?
(iii) Why did she feel alone?
(iv) What was her problem?
Answers
(i) That she and her friends do not seem to get closer.
(ii) She started writing diary so that she could confident in her diary.
(iii) Because she could not share her feelings with others.
(iv) Her problem was to get closer with the others.
- In any case, that’s just how things are, and unfortunately they’re not liable to change. This is why I’ve started the diary.
Questions
(i) Who is ‘I’ in the above lines?
(ii) What is the reference to the diary?
(iii) What according to the speaker is not liable to change?
(iv) What trait of the speaker’s nature can be seen here?
Answers
(i) In the above lines ‘I’ refers to Anne Frank.
(ii) The diary referred to is the one presented to the speaker.
(iii) The speaker does not seen to have a close relationship with her friends. This she thinks is not liable to change.
(iv) The speaker is mature and has an attitude of acceptance.
- I don’t want to jot down the facts in this diary the way most people would do, but I want the diary to be my friend, and I’m going to call this friend ‘Kitty’.
Questions
(i) Who is the speaker?
(ii) Who is Kitty?
(iii) How did the speaker come in possession of the diary?
(iv) How does the speaker not plan to use the diary?
Answers
(i) The speaker is Anne Frank.
(ii) The speaker has named the diary, “kitty”.
(iii) The speaker got the diary as a present.
(iv) The speaker plans to not use the diary as a record of facts.
- My father, the most adorable father I’ve ever seen; didn’t marry my mother until he was thirty-six and she was twenty-five. My sister, Margot, was born in Frankfurt in Germany in 1926. I was born on 12th June, 1929. I lived in Frankfurt until I was four. My father emigrated to Holland in 1933. My mother, Edith Hollander Frank, went with him to Holland in September, while Margot and I were sent to Aachen to stay with our grandmother. Margot went to Holland in December, and I followed in February, when I was plunked down on the table as a birthday present for Margot.
Questions
(i) How old were narrator’s parent when they got married?
(ii) Where and when did her father emigrated?
(iii) Where did she live until she was four?
(iv) With whom did she stay at Aachen?
Answers
(i) Narrator’s father was thirty six and her mother was twenty five when they got married.
(ii) Anne Frank’s father emigrated to Holland in 1933.
(iii) She lived in Frankfurt.
(iv) She stayed with her grandmother at Aachen.
- I started right away at the Montessori nursery school. I stayed there until I was six, at which time I started in the first form. In the sixth form my teacher was Mrs. Kuperus, the headmistress. At the end of the year we were both in tears as we said a heartbreaking farewell.
In the summer of 1941 Grandma fell ill and had to have an operation, so my birthday passed with little celebration.
Questions
(i) At what stage did the speaker start her studies?
(ii) Who was the headmistress?
(iii) What type of relationship the speaker and the headmistress had developed?
(iv) What happened in the summer of 1941?
Answers
(i) Anne started her studies from the 1st form.
(ii) Mrs. Kuperus, they both had developed great attachment.
(iii) They had developed sentimental relationship.
(iv) Her grandmother fell ill and had an operation.
- Grandma died in January 1942. No one knows how often I think of her and still love her. This birthday celebration in 1942 was intended to make up for the other, and Grandma’s candle was lit along with the rest.
Questions
(i) Whose grandmother is mentioned in the above lines?
(ii) When did the grandmother die?
(iii) What does the speaker feel about her grandmother?
(iv) What does ‘the other’ refer to?
Answers
(i) Anne Frank’s grandmother is mentioned here.
(ii) The grandmother died in 1942.
(iii) The speaker often thinks about her grandmother and still loves her.
(iv) ‘The other’ refers to Anne’s birthday in 1941 which could not be celebrated due to her grandmother’s illness.
- There are so many dummies that about a quarter of the class should be kept back, but teachers are the most unpredictable creatures on earth.
Questions
(i) What is the reference to ‘dummies’?
(ii) Who is the speaker?
(iii) What was the reason of quaking the class?
(iv) What does the speaker observe about teachers?
Answers
(i) The dummies refer to the students who may not be promoted to the next class.
(ii) The speaker is Anne Frank.
(iii) The reason was the forthcoming meeting. In the meeting the teachers would decide about promotion and detention.
(iv) The speaker says that teachers are the most unpredictable creatures on earth.
- I’m not so worried about my girlfriends and myself. We’ll make it. The only subject I’m not sure about is maths.
Questions
(i) Who is the speaker in the above lines?
(ii) What does not worry the speaker?
(iii) What does the speaker say about her girlfriends?
(iv) What is the speaker not sure about?
Answers
(i) The speaker in the above lines Anne Frank.
(ii) The speaker is not worried that she will not pas her class and be promoted to the next one.
(iii) The speaker says that her girlfriends will also get a promotion to the next class.
(iv) The speaker is not sure of her result in maths.
- An essay on the subject, ‘A Chatterbox’. A chatterbox what can you write about that?
Questions
(i) Who is the speaker in the above lines?
(ii) Which ‘essay’ is referred to here?
(iii) Why has she been given the essay?
(iv) What is her response to the title of the essay?
Answers
(i) The speaker in the above lines is Anne Frank.
(ii) The essay referred to is given to her by Mr Keesing
(iii) The essay has been given to her as punishment for talking in class.
(iv) She wonders what she may be able to write on the topic, ‘A Chatterbox, which is the unusual title of the essay.
- I would never be able to cure myself of the habit since my mother talked as much as I did if not more, and that there’s not much you can do about inherited traits.
Questions
(i) Which habit is the speaker mentioning here?
(ii) Who has inherited the trait and from whom?
(iii) Who wrote the above words and where?
(iv) Why did the speaker write these words?
Answers
(i) The speaker is mentioning the habit of talking in class.
(ii) Anne has inherited the trait from her mother.
(iii) Anne wrote the above words in her essay.
(iv) The speaker wrote the words to explain her habit of talking.
- The class roared. I had to laugh too, though I’d nearly exhausted my ingenuity on the topic of chatter boxes. It was time to come up with something else, something original.
Questions
(i) Why did the class roar?
(ii) What had she written recently?
(iii) What did she decide?
(iv) From where did she get her talkative habit?
Answers
(i) The class roared for assigning the topic to Anne third time.
(ii) She had written an essay on ‘Incorrigible Chatterbox’.
(iii) She decided to think of something original.
(iv) She got it from her mother.
TYPE II: SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (30-40 WORDS EACH)
Answer the following questions:
- What makes writing in a diary a strange experience for Anne Frank?
Ans. Writing in a diary was a strange experience for Anne as she had never written it before and also she believed that later on neither I nor anyone else will be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl.
- Why does Anne want to keep a diary?
Ans. Anne wants to keep a diary as she believed that she had no real and close friend. She hoped that she would confide her innermost feelings and thoughts to the diary. Thus she hoped to find a friend in the diary.
- Why did Anne think she could confide more in her diary than in people?
Ans. Anne believed that she could confide more in her diary than in people as she thought that she could confide anything to the diary as paper has limitless patience while the patience of people is limited.
- Why does Anne provide a brief sketch of her life?
Ans. Anne thought that since no one would understand a word of her stories to her diary, Kitty if she were to plunge right in, she thought it better provide a brief sketch of her life.
- What tells you that Anne loved her grandmother?
Ans. When Anne’s grandmother died, she stated that no else one could understand her intensity of her love for her 53 grandma. She also said that no one could imagine how much she thought of her. Lighting up extra candle for her during her birthday showed her love for grandmother.
- Why was Mr Keesing annoyed with Anne? What did he ask her to do?
Ans. Mr Keesing, Anne’s maths teacher was annoyed with her as she would always talk so much in class and thus disrupted the class.
- How did Anne justify her being a chatterbox in her essay?
Ans. Anne Frank supports her habit of talking too much by stating that talking is a student’s trait and she will try to control it. But she also says that she has got it from her mother and such inherited traits cannot be curbed.
- Do you think Mr Keesing was a strict teacher?
Ans. Mr Keesing was not a strict teacher but an innovative teacher. He used the habit of Anne’s talkativeness in a novel way and assigned her essays on her habit of talking. He would enjoy the arguments she gave to support her ideas. Thus he brought out the essayist and poet in Anne without hurting or scolding her.
- What made Mr Keesing allow Anne to talk in class?
Ans. Mr Keesing gave Anne essays to write based on her habit of talking in class. She would always do them well. Keesing even laughed at her arguments. Probably Keesing saw her merit as an original writer and tolerated her talkativeness in class.
- Was Anne right when she said that the world would not be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old girl?
Ans. Anne was completely wrong in thinking that the world would not be interested in the musings of a thirteen year old. When her diary was finally published her musings became a worldwide success and most read work of all times.
- Why does Anne need to give a brief sketch about her family? Does she treat ‘Kitty’ as an insider or an outsider?
Ans. Anne thought that since no one would understand a word of her stories to her diary, Kitty if she were to plunge right in, she thought it better provide a brief sketch of her life. She thought of her diary as a complete insider who was closest to her and her real friend.
- What does Anne write in her first essay?
Ans. Anne Frank wrote in her first essay talking is a student’s trait and she will try to control it. But she also says that she has got it from her mother and such inherited traits cannot be curbed. She put her ideas in three pages and handed it over to Mr Keesing.
- Anne says teachers are most unpredictable. Is Mr Keesing unpredictable? How?
Ans. Mr Keesing indeed proved to be quite unpredictable. Any other teacher would scold a talkative student. Instead Mr Keesing gave her a novel punishment writing an essay on, A Chatterbox. In the essay Anne gave convincing arguments to justify her habit of talking.
- Describe Anne Frank’s early education.
Ans. Anne Frank got her early education at the Montessori Nursery School until she was six. She started in the first form and in the sixth form, she had developed such a good relation with her headmistress Mrs Kuperus that both of them were in tears on the farewell.
- What was Mr Keesing’s reaction after reading Anne’s poem on the third essay that he had given to her to write?
Ans. When Mr Keesing read Anne’s poem on the third essay that he had given her to write, he took the joke the right way. He appreciated her poem which was beautiful.
- Would you say that Anne was a good writer?
Ans. Yes, Anne can be said to be a good writer as she was good at explaining and describing things and feelings. This is evident from her descriptions of her family and her interaction with Mr Keesing.
- When did Anne’s grandmother fall ill? What could they not do that year?
Ans. Anne’s grandmother fell ill in 1941. That year Anne’s birthday could not be celebrated due to her illness. It was celebrated properly in 1942 to make up for the last one.
- Why was the entire class quaking in its boots?
Ans. The entire class was quaking in its boots as the teachers were to meet to decide which student would pass and go to the next class and which ones would be detained.
- What did Anne think about her promotion to the next class?
Ans. Anne was confident that she along with her girl friends would be promoted to the next class. But she was not sure about her performance in Maths.
- How does Anne want her diary to be different?
Ans. Writing a diary was a strange experience for Anne because she had never written anything before. Moreover, she thought that no one would be interested in the musings of a 13 year old girl.
- Why was Anne in tears when she left the Montessori school?
Ans. Anne completed her study which was to be done in the Montessori school. She stayed there until she was in sixth form. She was very much attached with her headmistress Mrs. Kuperus. At the end of the year they both were in tears as they said ‘a heart breaking farewell’.
- Why did Mr Kessing stop to punish Anne?
Ans. Third time when Mr Keesing gave Anne an essay to write on the topic, ‘Quack, Quack, Quack, said Mistress Chatterbox’ as a punishment. She decided to write something real. Her kind Sanne also helped her. Actually it was a joke on Mr Keesing himself. However, he took her joke in a positive way and stopped punishing her.
TYPE III: LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS (100-120 WORDS EACH)
Answer the following questions:
- What novel punishment did Mr Keesing devise for Anne?
Ans. Anne was fond of talking a lot. Mr Keesing punished her and gave her essays to write one after another as she didn’t stop talking in the class. When she was asked to write the essay on the topic ‘Quack, Quack, Quack said Mistress Chatterbox” she decided to make it original. Her friend Sanne helped her as she was good at poetry and suggested her to write the entire essay in verse. Anne tried to play a joke on Mr Keesing with the essay. Mr Keesing took it in the right way and read it in the class. He understood that she was not a dull student, but an intelligent, though a talkative one. So he allowed her to talk and did not punish her again.
- Write a character sketch of Anne Frank.
Ans. Anne Frank was born on 12th June 1929 in Frankfurt, Germany. She was four years old when her father went to Holland to find a better place for his family to live. She was very intelligent and always wanted to become a writer.
She was a very good reader as well. She continued reading books, translated chapters, wrote down the vocabulary and worked hard on her skills. Like any child, she loved her family. She fell alone although there were thirty people around her but she hardly could call anyone a true friend. Anne died of typhus in the concentration camp at Berger Belsen in late February or early March of 1945.
- Anne believed that Paper has more patience than people’. Do you agree with the statement?
Ans. Anne believed that people are not interested in other’s life as they are stuck with their own problems so it is really hard to get someone who can give importance to her diary. People feel bored and become impatient when we talk about our problems.
On the other hand when we write our feelings and thoughts on paper, we can write as long as we want without thinking of anyone, as it doesn’t react. We can share our feelings, both sad and happy. It never gets bored or stops us from writing. It behaves like a true friend who keeps our secret and listens to us patiently. So she thinks that paper has more patience than people.
- What kind of relationship do you observe between Anne and Mr Keesing?
Ans. “The Diary of Anne Frank” vividly depicts the teacher-student relationship, class atmosphere and discipline. Anne who talked a lot in the class got punished by Mr Keesing, her maths teacher. He asks her to write essays as punishment which is learning in disguise because he wanted her to focus on studies. He cannot be blamed for the punishment as he did it for the development of Anne. The relationship between Mr Keesing and Anne Frank is clearly a lively and humorous one as they both try to joke with each other but in a very humorous and healthy manner. Such a healthy relationship is much needed everywhere in the class for effective teaching and learning.
- Describe the horrors of the war.
Ans. The war started in January 1943. Terrible things started happening. Helpless people were dragged out of their homes at any time of night and day. They were allowed to take only a knapsack and a little cash with them and even then, were robbed of their possessions on the way. Families were torn apart – men, women and children were separated. Children came from school only to find that their parents had disappeared. Women returned from shopping to find their houses sealed and families gone. The sons of Christian families, living in Holland, also lived in fear as they were sent to Germany. Hundreds of planes passed over Holland on their way to German cities to drop their bombs on the German soil. Thousands of people were killed. It was a frightening and horrible situation.
- In the form of the diary, Anne found a dear friend. Discuss.
Ans. Anne’s diary presents a remarkable account of the last two years in the life of a thirteen year old girl.
This diary was a birthday present and she considered it the best present which she had ever received. She was a shy, introvert girl who made the diary her medium of expression. She mentioned her loneliness in the diary. In a way, she expressed her heart and revealed her inner self through Kitty, her diary. The diary contains her innermost feelings, beliefs, moods and observation about people who lived around her. Her diary depicts her as a keen observer and a girl who had a flair for writing with depth and feeling. Thus we can say that her diary proved to be a dear friend.
- “The Diary Of A Young Girl’ vividly brings out the horrors of war. Discuss.
Ans. The Diary Of A Young Girl’, a real life account, was written at the time of the Second World War. It describes the pitiable conditions of the Jews as they were the most affected by this war. Thousands of Jews were forced to leave their houses and flee to other countries. During the war they were dragged out of their houses and were sent to the concentration camps. Many of the Jews went into hiding to escape the clutches of the Germans. The Frank family was also one of those few who went into hiding in a secret annexe. The entries of the sounds of guns, sirens and airplanes continued to create an image of the war scene in front of the reader’s eyes. Thus, the theme of the novel is the horrors of war faced by the Jews.
- Who brought out the writer in Anne? Describe.
Ans. Anne was fond of talking a lot. Mr Keesing, her Maths teacher punished her and gave her essays to write on talkativeness one after another as she didn’t stop talking in the class. When she was asked to write the essay on the topic Quack, Quack, Quack, said Mistress Chatterbox’ she decided to make it original. Her friend Sanne helped her as she was good at poetry and suggested her to write the entire essay in verse. Anne tried to play a joke on Mr Keesing with the essay. Mr Keesing took it in the right way and read it in the class. He understood that she was not a dull student, but an intelligent one, though a talkative one. So he allowed her to talk and did not punish her again. Thus he was responsible for bringing out the writer in Anne.
- Write a note on Anne’s early life.
Ans. Anne’s father, the most adorable father, didn’t marry Anne’s mother until he was thirty-six and she was twenty-five. Her sister, Margot, was born in Frankfurt in Germany in 1926. Anne was born on 12 June 1929. She lived in Frankfurt until she was four. Her father emigrated to Holland in 1933. Her mother,
Edith Hollander Frank, went with him to Holland in September, while Margot and Anne were sent to Aachen to stay with their grandmother. Margot went to Holland in December, and Anne followed in February. Anne started studying at the Montessori nursery school. She stayed there until she was six at that time she started in the first form.
- What is the main theme of ‘The Diary Of A Young Girl’?
Ans. ‘The Diary Of A Young Girl’ was written at the time of the Second World War. It describes the pitiable conditions of the Jews as they were the most affected by this war. Thousands of Jews were forced to leave their houses and flee to other countries. During the war they were dragged out of their houses and were sent to the concentration camps. Many of the Jews went into hiding to escape the clutches of the Germans. The Frank family was also one of those few who went into hiding in a secret annex. The entries of the sounds of guns, sirens and airplanes continued to create an image of the war scene in front of the reader’s eyes. Thus, the main theme of the novel is the horrors of war faced by the Jews at that time.
QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE
- Why was Anne’s entire class anxious and nervous?
- Anne loved her grandmother dearly. Would you agree? Why/ why not?
- How can you say that Anne loved her family?
- What was ironical about Anne’s belief that the world would not be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old girl?
- Why did the class laugh when Anne was handed out her punishment for talking in the class?